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With a certain a fro rope ladder She decided to be grateful that firstly, she hadn’t just been left behind, and secondly, that she earing traditional underpants rather than anything scantier The rest of herthe rope ladder with sweating hands, trying not to fall off and die
The pilot was a wo – the first that Irene had seen in trousers so far in this alternate Her goggles were shoved back over a coiled heavy braid of hair and she looked uard had been ‘I don’t knohat’s going on,’ she said, ‘but I’ll have to see some authorization’
‘My name is Vale,’ Vale announced ‘I require your assistance to reach the British Library as fast as possible’
‘That and a shilling’ll buy you a pound of onions,’ the woman said Uni of leather straps and creaking rubber ‘Go find some other poor sod to risk their job if you want to chase crie of what she was about to do Librarians were generally supposed to avoid it, because of the risks of i on people’sin interesting ways But they were running out of time ‘Miss Jenkins--’
‘That’s Mrs Jenkins to you,’ the woman snapped ‘I’m a respectable married wo fluidly into the Language, ‘you perceive that the detective here is showing you reliable and acceptable authorization’
Mrs Jenkins frowned, staring at Vale ‘well, I can’t say as I like it,’ she finally said, ‘but that seems to all be in order British Library, you said?’
‘At once,’ Vale said, with only a quick frown at Irene ‘There is no tiood, sir,’ the wo on to the straps further back in the cabin This is going to be a bu in the background and looked down Silver was standing on the roof, his cape billowing behind him as he pointed at the zeppelin
Kai saw hi cable The whole zeppelin rocked, and Irene had to grab for the straps, but they wereaway from the museum at the sudden loss of their tether
‘Damn dilettante amateurs,’ Mrs Jenkinstitches and spinning a dial before hauling on a joystick The zeppelin tilted and jolted into forwardfor the British Library Please talk a because I don’t like being distracted’
‘Yes,’ Vale said, turning to Irene ‘We need to talk, Miss Winters’
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Irene could think of so ht want to discuss that it wasn’t even funny But she was going to sit down first
She decided, as she perched on a ledge which ht be a seat, that this sort of transport must be reserved for very sh rooe iteood – Irene didn’t really want Mrs Jenkins listening in on this
Vale hi on to an overhead strap, using the advantage of his height to tower over Irene Possibly in response, Kai also stayed on his feet,over to loom behind Irene’s shoulder supportively
Irene wished that they’d both been poisoned too: perhaps then they’d be a bitto sit down
‘Miss Winters,’ Vale said, retreating into formality, ‘alamour and delude the minds of others?’
Oh So that hat had disturbed him ‘No,’ she said, then qualified it with, ‘not precisely And you’re probably wondering why I didn’t do such a thing before’
‘Or why you suddenly revealed it now, after using it on ether suspiciously
Da that he wouldn’t have Why did he have to use those qualities that she adainst her? ‘I’ht have been that desperate,’ Vale answered ‘An explanation, if you please’
Irene sighed She’d been hoping to avoid this ‘All right You know that I can use the Language to, in blunt tere a door from a locked door to an open door, but I can make the lock on a door open itself There are some subtleties to this, but I hope you’ll understand that I can’t explain everything in full detail and with footnotes I can get aith telling s to you, but there are liard for your superiors’ opinion,’ Vale co Brada the job – nowith you at all!’ She could feel her control slipping, which justthis dispassionately like a capable Librarian, as Bradamant would have done She shouldn’t feel this sudden lurch at the thought of ruining any sort of friendship with Vale She was not supposed to be involved with hi in and out, leaving no traces Standard procedure does not involve investigating localinvolved with local secret societies--’